Here With Me (Adair Family 1)

“As far as we know, she’s nothing like Mac.”

Arrochar tensed in his arms and reminded him, unnecessarily, “She’s his daughter, Lachlan.”

“Imagine having a kid at sixteen,” Thane continued in awe. “I can barely look after my two as it is. I can’t imagine being a father at that age.”

“One, you’re a great dad,” Lachlan replied. “Two, that’s my point. Mac was sixteen when Robyn was born. He was a kid. And her mother”—he gestured to Robyn—“made him into a villain. Somehow Mac’s the bad guy for going off to make some money for them? Mac’s the bad guy even though she stopped him from seeing his daughter. He’s lying in a hospital bed right now, and if Robyn even thinks of starting—”

“Whoa, calm down.” Arrochar pushed away from him. “Lachlan, you’re angry at whoever did this to Mac. At whoever is doing this to you. Not at Robyn. So don’t take it out on her while Mac is fighting for his life.”

Her words calmed the aggravation building inside him.

She was right. This wasn’t Robyn’s fault. Just like it probably wasn’t her fault her name was Penhaligon when it should be Galbraith. But he remembered when Mac found out she’d legally changed it. He remembered how hurt his friend had been.

Still, he nodded, and Arrochar relaxed just as Robyn’s heels sounded again.

Lachlan studied her as she neared, and when he noted the vulnerability in her eyes, the rest of his anger toward her deflated.

“No word yet,” Robyn informed them. That vulnerability he’d seen just seconds ago disappeared under flint. “Where are the police? Shouldn’t they be here?”

“They’ve already been,” Lachlan informed her. “They questioned Mac’s neighbor, Jim, and left.”

“Where is this neighbor?” She looked determinedly around the waiting room.

“I sent him home. He had quite a shock.”

Her eyes narrowed. “And what did he have to say?”

Lachlan tried not to react to her demanding tone. “That he was walking home from the pub when he saw Mac …” He took a breath. “Mac on his knees while someone, a man, stood over him. Jim thought he was punching Mac in the gut. When he shouted, the perpetrator took off. That’s when Jim got to Mac and realized he’d been stabbed.”

She didn’t flinch at that news. “Did he see the perp’s face? Any discernible qualities that stuck out to him about the guy?”

He shook his head, frustrated. “The man wore a ski mask. All black. All Jim could determine was his height. Around five ten, five eleven. Stocky build.”

“How did he catch Mac unaware?” Robyn asked in disbelief.

“It was right on his doorstep. He was dressed in a suit for dinner with you. The police reckon he’d just stepped outside the door when it happened. He obviously had no time to react.”

She nodded, processing this. Her gaze moved to the floor, and Lachlan contemplated her face, trying to uncover a resemblance to Mac. He couldn’t see it. Mac had dark hair. She had a mass of long hair that spilled past her shoulders and didn’t seem to know what color it wanted to be. Was it brown or blond or red? It was an undecided shade of all three.

But her manner … she had the same forthright quality as Mac. The thought barely formed when Robyn’s head snapped up and she glared at Arrochar. “What did you mean when you said someone meant to harm Lachlan, and they’d decided to take out his former bodyguard?”

Lachlan stiffened.

Arrochar shot her brother an apologetic look.

Oh, that’s just fantastic.

* * *

ROBYN

Adair took hold of my elbow to lead me away from the waiting room, and it took a lot of restraint not to shake off his touch. The man couldn’t make it any clearer that he despised me.

I let him lead me to an empty corner of a hospital corridor. “Well?” I finally shook off his hold, and he dropped his hand like I’d burned him.

Staring stonily down at me, I became much too aware that he had me pinned to a wall while he towered over me. His height and build, plus those eyes and that rugged face, had made him Hollywood’s perfect action hero.

In reality, his physique was perfect for intimidating people.

I didn’t appreciate it.

Slipping out from the wall, I put my back to the corridor, and Adair turned with me. I had an issue with putting my back to an entrance or open space, but after working through it with my therapist, I was determined to overcome the anxiety by forcing myself to stay put. To not encourage the fear by always placing myself with my back to a wall. Besides, I didn’t want my back to a wall in his presence.

Adair raised an eyebrow at my deliberate repositioning but didn’t remark on it. Instead, he offered, “There have been incidents at the estate.”

“What kind of incidents?”